Varun Berry To Chair ET Shark Awards 2026

This year, Varun Berry, former CEO, managing director, and vice chairman of Britannia Industries, will chair the ET Shark Awards.

Berry joined Britannia from PepsiCo in 2013 as chief operating officer and was elevated to Managing Director in 2014. During his tenure of over 10 years, Berry steered Britannia through a disciplined strategy focused on widening market reach, sharpening cost controls, boosting internal production capacity, streamlining supply-chain operations, and ramping up innovation.

The industry veteran brings 40 years of experience with companies such as HUL and PepsiCo, both in India and overseas. He has a successful track record of leading startups, turnarounds, joint ventures, and high-growth businesses. 

The 2025 edition of the awards was chaired by Suresh Narayanan, Former Chairman and Managing Director of Nestle India, and witnessed participation from some of India Inc.’s most respected business and marketing leaders, including: Angelo George, Chief Executive Officer, Bisleri International, Aseem Kaushik, Managing Director, L'Oréal India, Sangeeta Pendurkar, CEO, Pantaloons, Tarun Garg, Whole-Time Director & COO, Hyundai Motor India, Sameer Khetrapal, CEO & MD, Jubilant FoodWorks, Kedar Lele, Managing Director, Castrol India, Tarun Arora, CEO & Whole-Time Director, Zydus Wellness, Geetika Mehta, Managing Director, NIVEA India, Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Food Marketplace, Swiggy, Shriti Malhotra, Executive Chairperson, The Body Shop India, Shivam Puri, CEO & MD, Cipla Health, Sudhir Langer, Whole-Time Director, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Salil Murthy, Managing Director, Mars Petcare India, Anupam Katheriya, Chief Executive Officer, Cholayil Private Limited, Arindam Paul, Founding Member & CBO, Atomberg.

The ET Shark Awards follow a rigorous multi-city evaluation process, with jury sessions conducted across three major cities in India. More than 100 of the country’s leading marketers, brand custodians, and business heads come together to evaluate entries across categories spanning creativity, innovation, effectiveness, customer engagement, and business impact. The jury panel represents some of India’s most admired brands and organisations across FMCG, retail, automotive, technology, media, healthcare, and consumer services sectors.

Over the years, the awards have attracted participation from leading advertisers and brands such as Nestlé, Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Tata Consumer Products, PepsiCo, Netflix, and many others, reflecting the scale, diversity, and prestige of the platform.

Nominations for the ET Shark Awards are now open.
Submit your entries at: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/shark-awards